


Distant Memories

by squeaklings



Category: Guardians of Childhood - William Joyce, Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Canon - Book & Movie Combination, Fluff, Gen, No Romance, cuteness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-29
Updated: 2013-04-29
Packaged: 2017-12-09 22:01:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/778456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/squeaklings/pseuds/squeaklings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tooth and Sandy have a talk beneath the moon.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Distant Memories

He sat, staring up at the full moon as he bathed the world in his soft, silver glow. Golden sand roiled below the small and ancient Guardian, never completely still as tendrils fanned out to gently touch all the sleeping creatures of the world. On nights like this, with the Man in the Moon’s full attention on the earth, Sandy could afford to take a little break and let his Dreamsand move on its own.

He felt her presence long before he heard the flutter of her wings, and the roiling cloud expanded to provide a seat for the other Guardian.

“Oh, thank you,” Tooth said politely, and gently sat upon the Dreamsand. A gaggle of Baby Teeth swooped and circled about. “Five minutes, that’s it,” she said, and the tiny faeries dashed away to play in the sand.

Sandy smiled at his fellow Guardian. She left her Palace more often now, allowing herself the time to become part of the world once more. They all had—Tooth, North, and Bunny—since their last battle with the Nightmare King. Jack had filled him in on just why, which amused the little dreamer to no end.

“It’s a lovely night,” Tooth said after a long moment of comfortable silence. “The Man in the Moon looks so happy.”

Sandy nodded and the sand behind him bunched up like a pillow as he leaned back, content. The Dreamsand was peaceful; no hint of Nightmares anywhere, just as it should be.

“I’ve been thinking,” Tooth began after another long silence, voice soft, “and I was wondering… Do you ever miss it?” A question mark appeared above Sandy’s head, and the Tooth Fairy waved her hand up at the sky. “Your home. Up there.”

The Sandman followed the sweep of her arm and nodded. Where Tooth saw only a brightly-lit sky he saw friends and light and history, each brilliant point a life he’d known and met, a journey long abandoned.

Below them the Dreamsand stilled, memories of long ago seeping through each and every grain as it, too, remembered.

_We do_ , they vibrated with Sandy’s thoughts and feelings, an infinity of memories echoing sorrowfully in each unspoken word. Images formed in the sand around them; ancient galaxies and innumerable stars, the great Constellations of the Golden Age, strange creatures made of light and dust, and even more beautiful sights. Tooth and her faeries looked on in wonder, their feathers bathed in the golden glow.

And then the images changed, became familiar. The Man in the Moon with his too-kind face, North and Bunny and Tooth, millions upon millions of gently sleeping faces full of dreams and warmth and light. Tooth reached out to touch the images around her, tears in her eyes as she realized every single one was a memory of a life that Sandy had been a part of.

_Home_ , each grain said with Sandy’s hidden voice. _This is home, now, too_.

And the Sandman, older than them all, older even than the Man in the Moon, keeper of a million, million wishes and a million, million dreams looked up to the one who had saved him, called him, needed him, and smiled.

_Thank you._

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sure they might have had this conversation some time before when I set it, but I thought it was cute nonetheless and I wanted to write about both of them.


End file.
